Archer: NFC East awards - Tony Romo, MVP

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NFC East awards: Tony Romo, MVP

February, 13, 2015

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

NFL Nation reporters from the NFC East -- Phil Sheridan, Dan Graziano, John Keim and Todd Archer -- have crunched the numbers, ran through the analysis, double-checked their notes and gone with some gut feelings.

This week, they are offering up their NFC East Awards.


Today they close the awards with the division’s Most Valuable Player.

Tony Romo was tied for third in the Associated Press MVP vote with two first-place votes. DeMarco Murray also received two votes, but in the NFC East voting, Romo received all four first-place votes. Murray finished second and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was third.

Just as Romo was worthy for the league-wide MVP pick, he was more than worthy for the division award.

Romo led the NFL in completion percentage (69.9), passer rating (113.2) and Total QBR (82.7). He also had 34 touchdowns and just nine interceptions for the best touchdown-to-interception ratio of his career. Romo missed one game because of two transverse process fractures, but he was able to have his best season despite coming off a discectomy that kept him out of the 2013 season finale and limited him in training camp and the preseason.

Along the way, Romo became the Cowboys’ franchise leader in passing yards, moving by Hall of Famer Troy Aikman.

But it was how Romo closed the season that won him this award. With teams starting to slow down Murray, Romo raised his level of play in December, which had been his cruelest month. The Cowboys went 4-0 in December, beating the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field and clinched the division the following week with a win against the Indianapolis Colts. For the month Romo had 12 touchdown passes and one interception and completed 75 percent of his passes.

Here is why they voted the way they did:

Phil Sheridan: Here’s a flesh-and-blood example of the difference between MVP and offensive player of the year. I voted for Murray for the offensive POY award. He had a tremendous season. But when the Eagles played the Cowboys the first time, Romo’s back was bothering him. He just wasn’t right. The Eagles won, 33-10. In the rematch, Romo was back in form. Dallas won, 38-27. Murray and Bryant both had better games. That is the definition of an MVP.

Todd Archer: At 34, Tony Romo had his best season. He did it coming off his second back surgery in as many years and one that limited him in training camp and prevented him from practicing every day for most of the season. After losing to the Eagles on Thanksgiving, the Cowboys were in must-win mode the rest of the season. The Cowboys won the rest of their games and clinched the division with Romo playing at a higher level than he had ever played in a month in which he supposedly does nothing but fail. That made him the most valuable.

Dan Graziano: Yes, the Cowboys’ offense ran through DeMarco Murray. But as the leader of that offense, Romo was impeccable, leading the league in completion percentage (69.9), yards per pass attempt (8.52), passer rating (113.2) and Total QBR (82.7). He threw 34 touchdown passes to just nine interceptions. They didn’t always need to throw to win, but when they did, Romo didn’t miss. As the quarterback of the division’s best team, the year Romo had was MVP-worthy.

John Keim: Yes, while DeMarco Murray was the offensive player of the year, to me Tony Romo was the MVP. Having a terrific ground game removed the burden of him having to be their entire offense. But Romo was the reason that offense was so explosive. His ability to make plays on the move has always been fantastic. He threw a career-best 34 touchdown passes while tossing a career-low nine interceptions (for when he plays more than 10 games, that is). Just an impressive season.
 
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